The Arizona Coyotes are the latest NHL team to support the mission of the PWHPA and the ‘Dream Gap Tour’. On Thursday, the PWHPA and Coyotes jointly announced that a showcase event will head to Tempe from March 6-8. Full rosters have yet to be announced, but a number of star players have already been announced as participants.
Makenna Newkirk, former Boston College captain and Scottsdale native, will captain one of the two teams. Fellow Scottsdale native and former Minnesota-Duluth forward Katie McGovern will serve as the captain of the other team.
All prior ‘Dream Gap Tour’ stops featured four teams competing. This one will feature only two. Team Newkirk and Team McGovern will play two games, before a PWHPA All-Star team takes on the Coyotes Alumni.
The event starts on March 6th at 7:30 pm when Team Newkirk takes on Team McGovern. On Saturday the 7th, the sides will meet again at 3:00 pm. The weekend ends on Sunday when the PWHPA Stars take on the Coyotes Alumni. All three games will take place at the Oceanside Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
Among the other players that will take part in the event are Kendall Coyne, Marie-Philip Poulin, Brianna Decker, Ann-Renee Desbiens, Rebecca Johnston, Lee Stecklein and Sarah Nurse.
This is the first time the ‘Dream Gap Tour’ both goes down south and heads out west. Jayna Hefford, Executive Director of the PWHPA, expressed excitement at the newest location on the women’s hockey map.
“The PWHPA is extremely excited to bring the Dream Gap Tour to Arizona,” said Hefford in the release. “We know Arizona is a growing hockey market and we are excited to showcase the best talent in women’s hockey.”
The ‘Dream Gap Tour’ kicked off its 2020 slate in early January with the Secret Women’s Hockey Showcase in Toronto. The PWHPA will head to New Jersey next month (2/29 – 3/1) at Flyers Skate Zone for the year’s second showcase weekend. Tempe is now officially the third spot. We doubt it will be the last of 2020.
